Martha Murdock/Master Gardener
| Special to The Times
Watch a bear in Petersham, MA, find a bag of seeds in a pick up truck
Petersham homeowner Robin Ahlstrom’s security camera caught a bear inspecting her truck and working to get into the bed. It pulls out a large bag, only to have the contents spill.
Storyful
Seed libraries continue to grow in popularity as gardeners learn the fun, cost savings and unique seeds they offer.
The concept of “borrowing” seeds from a library and returning seeds later, harvested from the mature plants, has many benefits. Besides the cost savings and the joy of sharing, you often find unusual plants that grow well in the local ecosystem. You may be helping to preserve genetic diversity and help keep seed linages alive.
Seed libraries can make growing and harvesting vegetables more accessible, helping address food insecurities and increasing community involvement. Seed libraries can offer education on topics like plant identification and propagation. You might even learn some local history as some donors tell stories of where the plants originated.
Many libraries have donated seeds available – not only harvested ones, but extras from purchased seed packets. I can plant a ton of flowers, but do I really need 50 tomato plants? Those extra seeds are a prime example of a great gift for a seed library.
If you find seed packages past their expiration date, remember this is for consumer sales, and many seeds are viable well past that date. One way to test them is to wrap 10 seeds in a wet paper towel placed in a warm place. Watch to see how many germinate after several days. Easy math will show you the percentage of viable seeds. Then you can adjust your planting to compensate. If 50% sprout, then sow 50% more in your garden.
Some seeds, like tomatoes, are good for several years past their expiration date, according to Darci Saracco, member of Big Sewickley Creek Watershed Association and founder of the very successful seed library at the Sewickley Public Library. She had success with tomato seeds over 10 years old! The average storage lifespan of tomato seeds is between three and seven years.
According to the New York Times and listed in The Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest seed known to germinate was discovered by archaeologists around 1963 in Masada, Israel. The seed was successfully planted in 2005, germinating and growing into a healthy plant. This date palm seed dates back approximately 2000 years. Scientists named the resulting tree Methuselah.
Seed banks are different than seed libraries, which are usually local, seasonal, and community-based. Seed banks are established to ensure the long-term sustainability of diverse plant species. Seed banks support efforts toward plant breeding, research and conservation. Not only do they protect rare and endangered species, but they also play a role in developing new crop varieties and ensuring the availability of seeds in the future. The largest seed bank in the world is in Norway. The US has a primary seed bank in Colorado, called the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation.
Local seed libraries this past year included sites in Moon Township, Sewickley, Ambridge and New Brighton. These are seasonal, so check before you go. I bet that the fall gathering of seeds by garden enthusiasts will pair with these endeavors, and we’ll see more seed libraries every year.
Keep in mind that saving seeds is an art and a science; different types of plants and vegetables should have seeds harvested at different stages, and plant genetics plays a role as well. For example, squash family species are known to readily cross-pollinate and produce seeds that result in wacky fruit unlike the parent plants, so isolating plants or planting just one variety can help produce seeds with true-to-type fruits. There is much more to say on plant genetics and seed saving techniques, but that’s for another article.
Whether you are a borrower or lender of seeds, seed libraries are a super resource for community gardeners – join the fun!
Martha Murdock is a Penn State Master Gardener in Beaver County.
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